Hart is a published writer and former teacher. In this essay, she closely examines the language of Barot's poem, which appears to be the author's dominant focus.

Barot's poem “Bonnard's Garden” was published in his first collection, which he once described as a type of apprenticeship; that is, the poems were exercises in which he practiced the language and form of poetry. In the collection's foreword, the poet Stanley Plumly states that the “first responsibility of poetry is, of course, language.” Plumly goes on to say that Barot's poems are prime examples of the use of language “as a means” in itself. He also refers to Barot's “linguistic skills” as demonstrative of his “metaphorical and musical intelligence.” Barot has mentioned that he sometimes writes a stanza and then puts it away; after time has passed, he might write another stanza, possibly matching it to one previously written...